Barrel-Aged Silhouette
Lift Bridge Brewery

2019 bottle, Drank 7/31/23

Pours dark black, zero carbonation. Strong pleasant aroma of chocolate and molasses. Taste is much of the same with an added hint of coffee and bourbon barrel. Feel is thin, and FLAT which really distracts from this being a top BA stout for me. Overall it’s ok taste wise, but maybe 4 years old was way to long to wait on this one

 

Lift Bridge Silhouette Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. 2014. Bottle Number 239. 750 ml. 1 Pint, 9.4 fluid ounces. Alc. 10% by Volume. Aged in bourbon barrels. Brewed and bottled by Lift Bridge Brewing Company in Stillwater, MN, USA. "The Cold War is over. Serve at 55-60. Degrees. (I still don't know the key for that one.) I will skip the the gobbledygook until later.

(Note: this is one of those very rare occasions when I don't have a photo of the beer I consumed to go along with the notes. I plugged in the iPod touch that use to take them and found nothing. How is this possible? It's part of my regular routine, I never forget to take the pictures. Could I have accidentally deleted them somehow? That's even less likely. Perhaps I was just so excited to drink the beer that I forgot to take that essential early step in my ritual. So, once I realized there were no photos, I fished the empty bottle out of the recycling, and posed it next to the as yet un-washed glass I drank it from. That's not even the true beer in there, I followed Silhouette with another bottle.


I bought this two weeks ago at the brewery. Wish I had another to save and age and savor in the future, but this is the one, and I'm drinking it now. (I'd actually never even heard of this beer, must have been sleeping or something when it was released last year.)


Solid blackness in this one (the darkest beer I've had from this brewery), with a rich, roast tan head that starts big, slims down and stays awhile.

Aroma leaps out and spills the bourbon all over the place. Additional notes of charcoal, molasses, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, …vanilla. Always vanilla. And I like it.

Taste: Ah, mmm, and yeah, huh. Deepness and richness in abundance. This has got everything it needs and it lasts and lasts. Immensely indulgent. Chocolate and espresso and everything dark and deep and delicious. MMM, I'll say it again. And what else? Licorice. We call it anise sometimes. And all those other things.

It's a thing of hugeness and a richness and wonderfully rewarding to the drinker. this is all relative. I am loving this and this is not a chore at all, it is a delight. If you want to read about a chore, check my review of Stone's Crime and Punishment. Yikes, talk about trial and error!

Hey, let's read the gobbledygook. "Silhouette is as deep and dark as the Northern woods. It's brewed in the style of an Imperial Stout. Aromas of coffee, chocolate, molasses and prune meld with a unique dark roasted character. . The beer is complex, rich and full bodied. It's wild spirit will warm the senses, illuminate the soul, and grow into a traditional favorite…no matter what season."

2020 bottling, 12 oz bottle.

I walked on by this beer many times in the store because I considered it to be overpriced (yeah, I know... it's a "99 World-Class" here, but we're suckers for a BA Imperial stout...).

Anyhow, in a weak moment, I did order one from my favorite curb-side pickup store a while back, and it sat in my 'fridge, and sat, until I finally moved it to the cellar to make room for other beers.

It's back in the refrigerator for Cellaruary.

So, today is the day. I won't be able to compare it to the beer fresh, though, since this is my first tasting of this beer.

Taken from a ~42° refrigerator and allowed to warm for 30 minutes or so unopened. Drinking started at mid-50°'s (a guess).

Opaque black topped by a ½ inch creamy-appearing dark tan head with short retention. Little visible carbonation and what lacing does appear with a tip of the glass quickly slides back down into the tan ring. The ring eventually disappears completely, leaving a still surface.

Very strong aroma. Bourbon first, then barrel. Molasses. Slight hint of vanilla.

Rich flavor, mirroring the aroma. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, sweet molasses. Adding to the party is roasted malts and dark fruits. Toward the finish and into the aftertaste, dark chocolate appears along with the alcohol, slightly warming my mouth in the after. The finish is sweet vanilla and dark chocolate.

The body is substantial, approaching viscous (but not quite getting there).

Overall, this BA stout is excellent, indeed. A rich aroma and flavor, a substantial body, lots of bourbon and barrel without overpowering the underlying Imperial stout flavors, a sweet, but controlled sweetness, finish. It's not a dessert beer, but an excellent evening sipping beer. If I'm feeling like splurging, I may actually buy it again!

REview#1600,This thing is all barrel, but that's not a bad thing in this case. If I had to say something bad about it I would say it is sorta harsh and abrasive at times, overpowering and (this sounds dumb) kinda too smooth at other times... unbeer-like if that makes sense, tastes like some sort of new better drink that supersedes beer into a more betterer territory

 

 

 

 

Pours black with leakage to mahogany brown on the edges and a tan head. The nose has oaky, boozy barrel notes, some dark chocolate, and stone fruit.

The barrel is forward on the taste, coasting into the dark chocolate and stone fruit notes, which works really well. The mouthfeel is full, but just the slightest bit watery. Overall, thought this is outstanding.

 

 

 

#83, good stuff!

 

 

 

 

A slight fizz, but then no head. Nearly black, pours thick.
Smell is a sweet molasses and caramel.
Taste is smooth, balanced. Not as complex as some, but still extremely flavorful. Plum and molasses.
Feel is outstanding. Creamy and silky smooth.
An excellent beer!